Associated PressMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick gestures while speaking at the Statehouse in Boston, May 3, 2010.

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick has been tapped by President Barack Obama to help co-chair his re-election campaign.

"I am proud and honored to serve as a co-chair for President Obama’s re-election campaign," Patrick said in a statement Wednesday.

Patrick, whose term as Massachusetts governor expires in 2014, is among 35 people named as national co-chairs of the Obama campaign. Others include elected officials, campaign volunteers and celebrities such as actress Eva Longoria.

Patrick, who will not seek another term as governor, served as co-chair of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, advising the candidate on key issues and mobilizing voters across the nation. Patrick's role in this campaign is expected to include hosting events and galvanizing support for the president in the Bay State.

Obama and Patrick are friends with political roots stretching back to their Chicago days.

Other politicians serving as co-chairs include Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a fellow Democrat, and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican who deserted the GOP to become an Independent.

According to the Boston Globe, Patrick is already working on behalf of Obama, including addressing Democratic activists at recent North Carolina, Colorado and New Hampshire events. Patrick has launched a federal political action committee that allows him to finance his travel, and he has an e-book deal to publish "The Nation's Liberal Majority" in May, the Globe reports.

Material from the Associated Press and Boston Globe was used in this report.